Edit This Favorite

The AAW values your continued partnership and support. The purpose of this email is to keep you informed about important Chapter-AAW initiatives and information. You are encouraged to share this information with your Chapter members.

The annual AAW Chapter Meeting was held during the Kansas City Symposium on June 24. In attendance were 57 individuals representing 50 Chapters. The agenda included a presentation of accomplishments over the past 12 months and a facilitated discussion about AAW plans for the next 12 months.

New services successfully implemented under the Vision 2020 initiative were reviewed. These new services included:

Information about AAW's financial health and some basic business metrics was provided. Successful fiscal management brought the AAW unrestricted reserves position to the highest level since 2012, and projections are for reserves to be positive by year-end. A mid-year progress report was provided on 2017 membership growth goals. As of mid-June AAW is on track to achieve 16,000 members for the first time by the close of 2017. Growth in Chapters is continuing at a pace of 5-8 new Chapters per year. Presently there are 365 Chapters.

A draft of the initiatives proposed to be undertaken over the next 12 months was presented. In essence, the AAW is proposing a new slate of service and educational initiatives designed specifically for Chapters. See attached slide. These new programs will complement the accomplishments delivered over the past year, which were intended primarily to benefit individual turners. AAW put out the call for Chapter volunteers to lead and to serve on initiative implementation teams for the three projects requiring volunteer leaders.We repeat this call here. Please contact me if you are interested.

During the open forum session, a number of topics were discussed, including the status of current AAW Chapter communications and where further improvements can be made. There was vocal support to continue joint AAW-Chapter membership incentives like the New Gen 50% Dues Discount Program, as well as assigning a specific Chapter officer to be responsible for insuring AAW communications reach all Chapter members.

2017 CHAPTER AWARDS

The AAW holds an annual contest for the "Best Chapter Newsletter" and "Best Chapter Website." The AAW warmly congratulates the following Chapters for their exemplary efforts and dedication to advancing the art and craft of woodturning through technology and communication excellence.

Best Chapter Websites
For the "Chapter Best Website" award, judges looked for use of technology blended with uniqueness, personality, and good design, as well as useful current and archived technique-, safety- and news-related information that supports and contributes to AAW's educational mission.

First Place: Inland Northwest Woodturners

http://inwwoodturners.com/
Webmaster: Frank Hutchison
The Inland Woodturners' site is rich with both public and member content that contributes to advancing the art and craft of woodturning. The site contains a multitude of downloadable resources and links, as well as a specific section dedicated to safety.

Second Place: Ohio Valley Woodturners Guildhttp://www.ovwg.org
Webmaster: Dave Kratzer
Abounding with links to useful woodturning information, the Ohio Valley site has character, and is loaded with fresh and beneficial content.

Third place: Richmond Woodturnershttp://richmondwoodturners.org/
Webmaster: Stanley VanDruff
The Richmond site is colorful, attractive, and easy to read. Navigation is straightforward and the site's text is effectively offset by eye-catching photos.

Best Chapter Newsletters
For the "Chapter Best Newsletter" award, judges looked for sound writing skills, visually appealing layout, as well as useful technique-, safety- and news-related information that supports and contributes to AAW's educational mission. Above all, newsletters needed be fun to read and provide useful information to members of the Chapter they serve.

First Place: Central New York Woodturners

Newsletter editor: Barbara Raymond-LaPrease
The Central New York Woodturners have taken great care to design an appealing newsletter that includes a well-rounded mix of club news, articles, Q & A, photos with descriptive captions, and fun stuff. View samples of their newsletters here.

Second Place: North Carolina Woodturners
Newsletter editor: Beth Parham
North Carolina's newsletter is well-organized, and brimming with photos, news, and meaningful woodturning material. View samples of their newsletters here.

THANK YOU! As of June 30 (the end of the promotion period), more than 300 chapters recruited 900 new AAW members.

The Leader Board

Drum roll... We recognize that the larger Chapters have a built in advantage. That said, the twenty Chapters that recruited the most new AAW members for the promotion are as follows:

1. Minnesota Woodturners Association: 23

2. Woodturners of North Texas: 16

3. Grand River Woodturners Guild: 15

4. Des Moines Woodturners: 12

5. Edmonton Woodturners Guild: 12

6. Seattle Chapter: 12

7. Utah Association of Woodturners: 11

8. Mid-Columbia Woodturners: 10

9. Southwest Idaho Woodturners Assoc.: 10

10. Arizona Woodturners Association: 9

11. Ohio Valley Woodturners Guild: 9

12. Olympic Peninsula Chapter: 9

13. San Diego Woodturners, Inc.: 9

14. Sun City Woodturners: 9

15. Woodturners of Southwest Missouri: 9

16. Cascade Woodturners Association: 8

17. Glendale Woodturners Guild: 8

18. Hub City Turners: 8

19. Kansas City Woodturners: 8

Regardless of whether your Chapter was one of the top twenty or recruited fewer new AAW members, we applaud your Chapter's efforts for making this special promotion a success. For more than 30 years, AAW and its Chapters have partnered to share, support, and deliver a shared educational mission to those interested in turning wood. The most well-rounded woodturning learning experience can be achieved through both a local Chapter membership and AAW membership - for the "total experience."

AAW'S WOODTURNING CALENDAR

We'd like to remind Chapters that AAW has an online Woodturning Calendar. We invite you to submit your Chapter's woodturning-related events for the calendar. The information you submit will also be furnished to the editor of the American Woodturner journal, and will be used for event and demonstrator tracking and mapping purposes. Click here to submit your events.

We are here for you, and value your continued partnership, participation, and support. If you have questions concerns, or need assistance, please contact the AAW home office at 877-595-9094 (toll free), Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m., to 4:30 p.m. CST.